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|  FIFTEEN  YEARS  § 
I  IN  EAST  AFRICA  1 


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ISSUED  BY 


AMERICAN  FRIENDS  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
RICHMOND,  INDIANA 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN 
EAST  AFRICA 


A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FIELD 
AND  WORK  OF  THE 

FRIENDS  AFRICA  MISSION 


AMERICAN  FRIENDS 
BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

HOME  OFFICE 
RICHMOND,  INDIANA 


A  terrible  state  of  anarchy  existed  in  Kavirondo. 


2 


KAVIRONDO  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE 


THE  Friends  Africa  Mission  is  located  in  a  most  inter¬ 
esting-  part  of  Africa.  At  the  back  of  the  main  station 
at  Kaimosi  lies  a  forest.  Away  to  the  northeast  across 
hills  and  wooded  valleys  the  Nandi  escarpment,  curtained 
with  a  rich  blue,  rises  abruptly  several  hundred  feet.  From 
here  the  eye  sweeps  round  the  horizon,  taking  in  Mt.  Elgon, 
with  its  long  slopes,  almost  due  north  of  the  station.  All 
between  the  station  and  the  mountain,  some  sixty  or  seventy 
miles  distant,  is  filled  with  the  massive,  rolling,  blue-cur¬ 
tained  hills  so  characteristic  of  this  part  of  Africa.  To¬ 
ward  the  west  the  same  hill  country  stretches  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach,  and  here  and  there  heavy  patches  of  timber 
relieve  the  barrenness  of  the  hill  sides. 


This  fertile  land  is  teeming  with  people. 
3 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


This  fertile  land  is  teeming  with  people,  divided  into 
tribes.  Each  tribe  is  controlled  by  a  native  chief  often 
possessing  large  dignity  but  little  or  no  real  authority. 
Many  of  the  hills  are  dotted  with  native  huts  grouped 
closely  together  in  small  clusters.  Near  many  of  the  huts 
may  be  seen  the  small,  irregular  garden  patches,  and  scat¬ 
tered  over  the  hillsides  are  the  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats 
and  the  herds  of  cattle. 

Before  the  advent  of  the  British  Government,  a  terrible 
state  of  anarchy  existed  in  Kavirondo.  Feuds  of  long  stand¬ 
ing  made  it  dangerous  and  often  disastrous  for  the  members 
of  one  tribe  to  encroach  upon  the  territory  of  another  tribe. 
Due  to  the  persistent  effort  of  the  British  authorities,  law  and 
order  prevail  throughout  the  greater  part  of  this  country 
and  the  tribes  dwell  together  in  peace. 

Kavirondo  Character. 

The  Kavirondo  are  a  simple-minded  people,  not  so  in¬ 
telligent  as  some  African  tribes  and  lacking  in  initiative, 
but  more  capable  of  learning  to  do  all  sorts  of  manual  labor. 
They  are  not  wholly  averse  to  working,  but  are  glad  to 
learn  to  do  and  make  things  like  the  white  man.  They 
have  a  real  appreciation  of  humor,  and  one  is  often  able 
to  overcome  a  fit  of  stubbornness  or  rebellion  by  appealing 
to  the  ludicrous  in  them.  Perhaps  the  most  noticeable 
feature  of  the  people  is  their  almost  absolute  nakedness. 
Men,  women  and  children  wear  practically  nothing  that  can 
be  called  clothing.  At  the  best,  a  sort  of  apron,  made  of 
a  cow,  goat  or  sheep  skin,  tanned  or  untanned,  is  all  that 
can  be  expected.  This  primitive  clothing  is  suspended  from 
the  neck  by  a  cord  made  of  fiber  obtained  from  the  stems 
of  banana  leaves.  Men  almost  always  have  this  apron ; 
the  women  are  more  often  without  it,  their  only  clothing 


4 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


Group  of  mourners  on  the  way  to  a  funeral. 

being  a  few  strands  of  banana  fiber  tied  around  the  loins. 
Little  children  have  not  even  these  string's. 

These  people  are  among  the  cleanest  in  their  personal 
habits  of  any  in  Africa.  They  do  not  make  a  practice  of 
rubbing  the  body  with  clay  and  grease.  Their  hair  is  kept 
cut  close  and  often  shaved  in  fancy  designs.  Rings  of  iron 
are  worn  about  the  ankles  and  neck.  Important  men  often 
wear  a  coil  of  wire  from  the  wrist  to  the  elbow,  which  is 
kept  shining  by  frequent  polishings.  Fine  chains  of  iron 
suspended  from  an  iron  ring  around  the  neck  are  also  worn 
by  the  men. 

Religion. 

The  religion  of  these  black  folk  is,  in  common  with 
nearly  all  African  tribes,  of  a  very  low  order.  It  consists 
mainly  in  an  attempt  to  keep  the  spirits  which  inhabit  the 


5 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


trees,  rocks  and  water  courses  favorably  disposed  toward 
them.  This  is  accomplished  by  various  offerings  of  meat 
and  other  food.  Charms  made  of  leopard’s  claws,  teeth, 
stone  and  other  objects  are  worn  to  keep  evil  spirits  at 
bay.  Every  “beer  drink”  is  begun  by  pouring  a  libation 
of  beer  upon  a  few  small  stones  placed  on  end  to  render 
the  spirits  favorably  disposed  toward  the  festivities.  They 
have  no  clear  conception  of  God,  or  Nyasaye,  as  He  is 
called,  and  therefore  they  know  nothing  of  a  real  heart 
attitude  of  worship.  “Some  may  look  upon  Him  as  a 
creator,  but  very  many  have  never  thought  of  Him  as  such 
in  their  limited  meditations  concerning  Him.  At  all  events, 
He  is  a  God  afar  off  and  not  much  interested  in  people. 
The  ever-present  Satan,  with  his  countless  host  of  evil 
spirits  and  malicious  influences,  is  well  known,  feared, 
hated,  but  followed.”  They  stand  in  constant  fear  of  death, 
which  is  to  them  the  great  unknown  eternity.  Their  whole 
existence  is  controlled  by  customs,  many  of  which  are  un¬ 
reasonable  and  harmful. 

Treatment  of  Women. 

The  condition  of  women  is  in  some  respects  better  than 
in  most  places  where  heathenism  holds  absolute  sway. 
While  she  is  held  to  be  but  little  above  the  cattle  with  which 
she  is  bought,  the  burdens  of  the  family  life  are  somewhat 
evenly  divided  between  the  husband  and  wife.  The  men 
take  some  part  in  the  garden  work.  They  clear  the  thick 
brush  from  the  ground  and  the  women  follow  to  dig  it 
with  their  hoes.  When  the  crop  is  ready  for  weeding  the 
men  assist.  While  the  men  are  engaged  in  this  lighter 
work,  the  heavier  task  of  cutting  and  carrying  the  firewood 
falls  to  the  lot  of  the  women.  The  load  of  wood  which 
one  of  these  women  will  often  carry  long  distances  could 


6 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


not  be  carried  half  as  far  by  a  strong  white  man.  During 
the  harvest,  the  men  again  share  the  work. 

Marriage. 

Unlike  some  pagans,  the  Kavirondo  people  take  espe¬ 
cially  good  care  of  their  daughters,  not  because  they  esteem 
them  more  highly,  but  because  they  may  be  sold  and  thus 
enrich  the  father.  The  daughter,  when  of  marriageable 
age,  and  it  arrives  early  in  life,  can  be  sold  for  several 
sheep,  cows,  hoes,  or  bracelets.  The  daughter’s  preference 
may  be  considered  in  the  affair,  but  usually  the  father  and 
bridegroom  consummate  the  bargain. 

Houses. 

The  houses  in  which  these  people  live  are  built  with  up¬ 
right  walls  about  three  feet  high.  The  walls  are  made  by 
driving  stakes  thickly  in  a  circle  and  smearing  the  inside 
with  mud.  The  roof  is  of  thatch  supported  upon  a  pole 
about  nine  feet  high.  A  typical  house  is  divided  into  three 
apartments,  not  by  partitions  but  by  the  use  to  which  they 
are  put.  The  front  space  is  a  general  one  where,  during 
the  day,  the  women  grind  and  the  children  play,  and  at 
night  the  cattle  stand.  The  second  space  is  for  chickens 
and  goats,  over  which,  on  a  shelf,  is  stored  the  firewood. 
The  third  is  the  bedroom  for  the  whole  family.  It  com¬ 
prises  about  a  fourth  of  the  hut,  which  is  twelve  or  fifteen 
feet  in  diameter.  If  the  family  is  large  and  at  the  same 
time  prosperous,  the  little  hut  may  be  rather  crowded  at 
night.  As  polygamy  is  common,  and  as  there  is  a  separate 
hut  for  each  wife,  there  may  be  several  huts  close  together, 
forming  a  family  group  and  the  whole  cluster  often  sur¬ 
rounded  by  a  hedge  or  by  a  brush  or  mud  wall.  All  the 
home  life  there  is  must  be  centered  about  such  uninviting 


7 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


places,  which  are  hot  in  the  day  time  and  damp  in  the  morn¬ 
ing-,  evening-  and  throughout  the  rainy  season.  These 
houses  have  practically  no  furniture,  and  are  made  less  in¬ 
viting  by  the  smoke  from  a  smoldering  fire,  that  cannot 
get  out  of  the  hut  save  through  one  little  door  and  the 
thatch  roof. 

Witch  Doctors. 


In  the  past,  witch  doctors 
held  absolute  sway  over  the  peo¬ 
ple.  In  case  of  sickness,  trouble 
or  war,  the  witch  doctor  was  al¬ 
ways  consulted.  He  frequently 
maltreated  his  patients  and  left 
them  in  a  worse  condition  than 
when  he  began  his  quack  treat¬ 
ment.  For  all  his  services  he 
demanded  exorbitant  fees. 
Thanks  to  the  untiring  efforts 
of  medical  missionaries  and 
others,  the  witch  doctor  is  losing 
the  confidence  of  his  tribes-men. 

Dancing  and  Drinking. 

Dancing  and  beer-drinking 
A  witch  doctor.  .  . 

occupy  a  prominent  place  m  the 

lives  of  the  people.  An  “orchestra,”  consisting  of  native 
drums  and  cowhide  shields  stretched  tightly  over  wooden 
frames  and  beaten  by  naked  men  furnish  the  music.  The 
men  dance  with  men  and  the  women  with  women.  Some 
of  the  women  will  engage  in  the  dance  carrying  little  chil¬ 
dren  astride  their  hips.  The  dancers  continue  until  almost 
exhausted,  when  they  will  stop  long  enough  to  hear  from 
an  orator,  who  has  been  chosen  by  the  chief  having  the 


8 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


affair  in  charge.  In  the  mild  light  of  the  moon,  the  weird 
songs,  the  rhythmic  motions,  the  nude  bodies  of  the  men, 
women  and  children,  and  the  vile  gestures  of  these  de¬ 
graded  people,  tell  of  a  people  strangers  to  righteousness, 
but  all  too  familiar  with  sin. 

History  of  Friends’  Work  in  Africa. 

The  British  East  Africa  Colony  has  an  area  of  350,000 
square  miles  and  a  population  of  about  4,000,000.  Among 
the  first  to  penetrate  this  unknown  land  were  Dr.  Krapf 
(1837-56)  and  John  Rebmann  (1846-76),  who  established 
the  Anglican  missions.  These  intrepid  missionary  ex¬ 
plorers  were  followed  by  representatives  from  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  the  Scandinavian  Alliance  and  other  mission¬ 
ary  bodies.  In  1895  Willis  R.  Hotchkiss,  of  Ohio  Yearly 
Meeting,  began  work  in  Africa  under  an  undenomina¬ 
tional  board.  With  the  hope  of  interesting  Friends  in  the 
work  there,  he  returned  to  America  in  1899  and  soon  ef¬ 
fected  a  temporary  organization.  Africa’s  needs  were  laid 
before  a  number  of  Yearly  Meetings,  and  Friends  rallied 
to  the  support  of  the  work.  In  1902  the  Board  of  the 
Friends  Africa  Industrial  Mission  was  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  with  the  primary  object 
of  evangelizing  the  heathen. 

In  the  spring  of  1902,  Willis  R.  Hotchkiss,  Arthur  B. 
Chilson,  and  Edgar  T.  Hole  sailed  from  New  York  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  the  present  Friends  Africa  Mission. 
Upon  arriving  at  Mombasa  they  entrained  for  Kisumu, 
the  terminus  of  the  Uganda  Railway.  From  here  they  went 
on  foot  into  the  Kavirondo  country  to  search  out  a  suitable 
location  for  a  mission  station.  Arthur  Chilson  graphically 
narrates  the  events  immediately  preceding  the  locating  of 
the  station. 


9 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


“After  having  tramped  about  200  miles,  we  began  pros¬ 
pecting  along  the  timber  belt.  At  the  first  camp,  Willis  R. 
Hotchkiss  was  taken  ill  and  could  not  be  moved  for  over 
a  week,  then  Edgar  Hole  began  also  to  succumb  to  fever. 
On  the  second  day  of  this  journey  a  location  was  sighted 
which  appeared  to  be  a  suitable  place  to  camp  for  the  Sab¬ 
bath,  but  on  closer  observation  it  proved  to  be  quite  un¬ 
healthful  and  uninviting  to  two  men  already  attacked  by 
fever.  The  caravan  halted  there  while  I  pushed  through 
the  jungle  that  lay  between  us  and  a  small  hill.  After 
forcing  our  way  for  a  mile  through  this  thick  jungle,  we 
came  to  the  hill,  but  found  that  it  was  only  a  pile  of  stones 
which  would  afford  no  camping  place.  We  hastened  back, 
the  question  of  a  camping  place  becoming  more  and  more 


Mission  House  at  Kaimosi,  the  main  station. 

10 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


serious  every  moment,  with  one  man  sick  and  another  far 
from  well.  I  had  stopped  looking  for  a  mission  site  and 
was  bending  every  energy  to  find  a  suitable  camp.  When 
we  came  back  to  where  the  caravan  had  halted,  I  climbed 
a  tree  to  gain  a  better  view  of  the  country  and  espied  through 
the  trees  this  grassy  slope  where  we  are  now  located.  I 
hurried  down  and  we  started  toward  it.  Crossing  the 
river  we  came  up  the  gradual  slope  and  camped  within 
fifty  feet  of  the  spot  where  the  iron  house  is  located.  Little 
did  we  think  that  we  had  discovered  the  place  where  we 
should  labor  in  the  future  for  these  needy  people.” 

Soon  after  this,  858  acres  of  land  were  purchased  from 
the  British  Government.  Part  of  the  land  is  heavily  tim¬ 
bered,  and  across  one  corner  runs  the  Lugoli  river  with  a  fall 
of  twenty  feet. 

Though  but  little  more  than  one  degree  from  the 
equator,  the  climate  is  mild  and  healthful  because  the  alti¬ 
tude  is  over  5,000  feet.  The  thermometer  ranges  from  48 
degrees  to  98  degrees  in  the  shade.  The  nights  are  quite 
cool,  necessitating  blankets  and  comforts.  The  sun  is  ex¬ 
tremely  hot  at  midday  and  quite  oppressive  and  penetrating, 
making  it  necessary  for  foreigners  to  shield  themselves 
by  wearing  helmets  or  carrying  umbrellas. 

To  prepare  this  site  for  white  occupancy  required  a  long 
and  arduous  period  of  time.  The  ground  had  to  be  cleared 
of  grass,  shrubs  and  trees.  After  this  had  been  done,  it 
was  plowed  and  planted  to  wheat,  millet,  potatoes  and 
garden  vegetables.  Houses  of  poles,  mud  and  thatch  served 
as  headquarters  for  the  mission  workers.  These  houses 
also  proved  attractive  to  the  rats  and  snakes.  One  mission¬ 
ary  tells  of  having  to  poke  the  canvas  above  the  bed  to 
scare  away  the  rats  before  sleep  was  possible,  and  occa¬ 
sionally  a  snake  was  found  in  the  morning  curled  up  near 


11 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


at  hand.  Good  dwellings  for  most  of  our  missionaries  have 
reduced  these  experiences  to  a  minimum  and  we  hope  soon 
to  have  enough  houses  at  the  mission  stations  to  prevent 
the  recurrence  of  such  night  visiting.  Three  new  dwellings 
are  needed  at  once  if  the  health  and  efficiency  of  the  mis¬ 
sionaries  still  living  in  mud  houses  is  to  be  maintained. 


The  Chilson  family  and  their  mud  house. 


Work  was  immediately  begun  on  the  language,  which 
had  to  be  reduced  to  writing,  and  within  a  few  months’ 
time  the  Kavirondo  heard  for  the  first  time  the  story  of 
Jesus  and  His  love.  Emory  J.  Rees,  who  with  his  wife 
joined  the  mission  staff  in  1904,  has  rendered  valuable 
service  in  translation  work. 

Since  the  founding  of  the  mission  in  British  East  Africa, 
the  work  has  developed  along  four  distinct,  and  yet  inter¬ 
related  lines. 


12 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


Industrial. 

While  the  mission  was  organized  primarily  to  give  the 
Gospel  to  the  African  people,  those  in  charge  soon  felt  that 
industrial  work  must  be  used  as  one  of  the  means  to  this 
end.  A  lazy  person  in  any  land  makes  a  poor  Christian 
and  the  African  proved  to  be  no  exception  to  this  rule. 
And  again,  if  a  self-supporting  church  was  ever  to  be 
formed,  the  members  would  have  to  be  freed  from  their 
condition  of  poverty.  And  the  natives  who  accepted  Christ 
must  be  taught  how  to  change  their  environment  if  the 
permanency  of  the  work  was  to  be  assured.  With  these 
fundamental  principles  in  mind,  the  mission  staff  began 
teaching  the  natives  how  to  till  the  soil  and  how  to  raise 
better  crops.  New  vegetables  and  plants  were  introduced. 


Making  brick  for  better  buildings. 
13 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


Coffee  plants  were  set  out,  but  so  far  the  venture  has  not 
passed  the  experimental  stage. 

Clay  suitable  for  brick-making  was  discovered  and 
brick-making  plants  were  installed.  After  many  failures, 
the  station  boys  have  learned  to  lay  straight  walls  and  to 
erect  buildings  which  are  a  credit  to  them.  Lumbering 
also  figures  largely  in  the  industrial  work.  Large  quan¬ 
tities  of  timber  are  produced  by  the  mission  saw  mill  at 
Kaimosi  which  more  than  supply  the  needs  of  the  mission 
stations.  Road-making  and  bridge-building  have  been  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  industrial  work.  The  bridges  mean  as  much 
to  the  people  themselves  as  to  the  missionaries.  In  1916, 
a  boy  of  twelve,  while  attempting  to  ford  a  stream,  was 
very  badly  bitten  by  a  crocodile,  and  in  1914  a  boy  some¬ 
what  older,  while  trying  to  help  a  woman  across  the  ford, 
was  carried  away  by  one  of  these  animals.  Today,  one 
may  travel  de  luxe  by  mule  team  or  motorcycle  from  one 
station  to  the  other  without  having  to  ford  streams  or 
wind  along  over  twisting  trails. 

One  missionary  narrates  the  following  experience  of 
traveling  over  native  trails :  “It  is  hardly  a  pleasure  trip 
to  wind  in  and  out  all  day,  shut  in  by  the  bushes,  while 
an  equatorial  sun  glares  at  you  straight  from  above.  You 
toil  up  hill  only  to  find  when  at  the  top  that  there  is  a 
valley  beyond.  The  nettles  sting  you,  the  thistles  prick 
you,  and  the  sun  scorches  you.” 

A  printing  press  recently  sent  to  the  field  is  another 
asset  to  the  industrial  work.  Already  a  first  reader,  por¬ 
tions  of  Scripture,  including  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts,  a 
hymn  book  and  an  arithmetic  have  been  prepared  and 
printed  in  the  vernacular. 

ddie  girls  have  not  been  neglected  in  the  scheme  of  in¬ 
dustrial  education.  Sewing  classes  provide  opportunity  for 


14 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


Chief  Murunga  and  his  new  house.  Murunga  is  at  the  left 
holding  a  walking  stick. 

the  women  and  girls  to  learn  that  art.  They  are  first  taught 
to  sew  patches  together,  and  later  to  make  dresses  for  them¬ 
selves.  As  a  result  of  this  work,  the  number  of  naked  peo¬ 
ple  on  the  mission  compound  is  steadily  diminishing. 

The  industrial  work  has  given  the  missionaries  a  splen¬ 
did  opportunity  to  teach  the  people  better  habits  of  living 
and  to  present  Christ  to  them.  One  of  the  chiefs,  Murunga, 
lives  in  a  brick  house  having  a  cement  floor  and  porch  and 
furnished  with  good  chairs  and  a  table.  And  at  some  time 
during  the  day  religious  services  are  conducted  at  each  of 
the  main  mission  stations. 

Medical. 

The  African  is  a  prey  to  numerous  physical  ailments. 
Ulcers,  snake  bites,  broken  bones,  plague,  burns,  smallpox, 

15 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


and  other  equally  uncomfortable  and  dangerous  afflictions 
have  rendered  the  native’s  lot  a  hard  one  to  endure. 

A  hospital  has  been  erected  at  Kaimosi,  and  is  now 
under  the  management  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Bond  and  wife.  The 
following  items  regarding  the  work  were  taken  from  some 
of  their  letters. 

April  15,  1917. — “Dr.  Bond  has  fixed  up  one  room  for 
a  dispensary  and  has  already  had  quite  a  practice.  It  will 
take  time  to  get  the  natives  to  be  willing  to  come  and  stay 
here  while  they  are  sick,  but  they  will  come  to  it  gradually. 
They  are  so  bound  by  their  old  superstitions  and  customs, 
especially  the  old  people.  He  had  a  case  the  other  day  which 
needed  to  be  brought  in.  An  old  man  fell  out  of  a  tree 
and  broke  his  leg  in  such  a  way  that  only  amputation  would 
save  his  life.  But  he  would  have  nothing  done,  and  died 
that  night.  The  young  people  are  much  more  easily  per¬ 
suaded  to  take  medicine.  Several  have  already  been  here. 
They  have  lots  of  sores  and  ulcers.  It  is  pitiful  to  see  the 
little  babies  with  these  skin  diseases.  Some  babies  have 
been  brought  who  have  burns.  The  mothers  have  to  go 
away  to  work  in  their  gardens  and  while  they  are  gone 
the  babies,  who  are  left  at  home  on  the  floor,  roll  into  the 
fire  which  is  in  the  middle  of  the  hut  floor.” 

May  7,  1917. — “During  the  first  month  I  treated  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dispensary  patients,  made  five  calls 
into  the  reserve,  gave  medical  attention  to  six  missionaries 
and  other  whites  and  made  one  trip  eighty  miles  distant 
to  see  a  sick  settler.  During  the  second  month  I  treated  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dispensary  patients,  made  fifteen  visits 
into  the  reserve  and  gave  medical  attention  to  ten  mission¬ 
aries  and  other  whites.  There  is  certainly  a  great  field  for 
medical  work  here  and  I  believe  that  it  will  contribute  much 
to  the  missionary  work  as  soon  as  we  get  the  hospital 


16 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


started,  as  it  will  give  an  additional  point  of  contact  with 
the  natives  and  help  to  win  their  confidence.” 

July  1,  1917. — “The  medical  work  continues  to  increase 
and  the  outlook  is  very  promising  in  this  connection.  The 
suffering  due  to  ignorance,  superstition  and  filthy  living  is 
almost  unbelievable.  Some  days  ago  I  was  called  to  see 
a  native  woman  who  was  very  ill  and  who  had  been  un¬ 
conscious  for  several  days.  She  might  have  recovered,  but 
according  to  their  custom,  her  friends,  believing  that  she 
was  going  to  die,  carried  her  on  their  shoulders  many  miles 
through  the  bush  to  her  home,  so  that  she  might  die  there. 
And  of  course  she  did  die  after  such  treatment.  It  is  a  great 
privilege  to  be  able  to  work  to  improve  such  conditions  as 
these  and  to  make  such  work  contribute  to  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  people.” 


One  of  the  many  village  schools,  with  native  teacher. 

17 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


Educational. 

It  is  the  strong  conviction  of  all  missionary  workers 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen 
must  be  done  by  native  evangelists.  Africa  must  be  won 
to  Christ  by  the  Africans.  Our  missionaries  are,  therefore, 
striving  to  help  solve  the  problem  of  supplying  native 
workers,  not  only  by  leading  them  to  Christ,  but  also  by 
teaching  and  training  them.  It  is  evident  that  they  must, 
at  least,  be  able  to  read  the  Scriptures,  if  they  are  to  be¬ 
come  teachers  and  evangelists.  The  school  work  is,  therefore, 
conducted  primarily  as  a  helper  to  the  evangelistic  work. 
Schools  have  been  organized  at  the  main  stations  and  at  a 
number  of  outlying  villages.  These  are  well  attended  by 
boys,  girls  and  some  older  people.  Reading,  writing,  simple 
arithmetic,  manual  training  and  Bible  study  make  up  the 
present  curriculum  in  the  schools.  The  daily  work  is  car¬ 
ried  out  according  to  the  following  schedule : 

6 :30  a.  m. — Morning  work  begins. 

8 :00  a.  m. — Girls’  school. 

9  :00  a.  m. — Medicines  are  dispensed. 

10:00  a.  m.  to  12:30  p.  m.- — School. 

2  :00  to  4 :00  p.  m. — School. 

The  Africans  have  not  been  slow  to  see  the  advantages 
to  be  gained  from  educational  work  and  have  made  many 
demands  upon  the  mission  force  for  more  schools.  Jeffer¬ 
son  Ford  writes,  “Walioula,  a  head-man  of  importance 
living  out  near  the  west  end  of  our  district,  requested  us 
to  establish  a  school  in  his-  district.  He  is  thirty-five  or 
forty  miles  from  the  station.  On  the  way  to  visit  him 
and  his  people,  I  passed  through  the  district  in  which 
Kirui  is  head-man.  In  talking  with  him,  he  asked  to  have 


18 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


a  school  established  in  his  district.  Both  of  these  head-men 
have  several  boys  in  the  station  school.  Each  sent  several 
times  to  ask  me  to  come  again  and  measure  and  lay  out 
a  school  house  for  them.” 

Many  of  the  pupils,  as  soon  as  they  have  received  a 
smattering  of  knowledge  are  sent  back  to  their  local  villages 
to  teach  their  fellowmen  the  little  that  they  have  learned. 
One  boy  is  reported  to  have  walked  fourteen  miles  three 
days  in  the  week  to  teach  school.  This  teaching  is  alter¬ 
nated  with  work  at  the  main  stations,  thus  preparing  the 
teachers  for  a  larger  service. 


The  girls  have  not  been  neglected.  A  girls’  school  at  Lirhanda. 


In  1915,  shortly  before  returning  to  America  on  fur¬ 
lough,  Edgar  T.  Hole  surveyed  the  field  in  order  to  learn 
the  number  of  pupils  attending  school.  He  found  that 
4,431  were  availing  themselves  of  this  opportunity  and  that 
others  were  clamoring  for  the  establishment  of  schools  in 
their  village.  This  is  one  of  the  most  important  phases 


19 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


of  the  work  being  carried  out  on  the  field,  and  it  should 
receive  a  heartier  support  from  the  home  church. 

Evangelistic. 

From  the  very  inception  of  the  work,  the  field  staff  has 
ever  kept  foremost  the  evangelization  of  these  benighted 
people.  Before  the  first  workers  knew  enough  of  the  lan¬ 
guage  to  tell  the  people  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  sought  to 
manifest  Him  through  their  daily  living,  and  as  soon  as 
they  had  acquired  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  Kavirondo 
speech  they  began  holding  religious  services  with  the 
people. 


Going  to  meeting  at  Kaimosi. 


The  first  service  on  Sunday  morning  is  usually  held 
soon  after  sunrise  with  the  boys  who  are  to  hold  services 
at  the  out-stations.  The  time  is  spent  in  prayer  and  Bible 
study.  Sunday  School  comes  later  in  the  morning.  Roxie 
Reeve  reports  1,500  in  attendance  at  one  Sunday  School 
service.  Preaching  services  are  held  at  eleven  o’clock.  The 
number  in  attendance  upon  the  meeting  for  worship  at 


20 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


Maragoli  has  run  as  high  as  1,300.  At  one  Christmas 
service  2,800  were  counted  and  a  number  left  before  the 
count  was  made.  Christian  Endeavor  Societies  have  been 
organized  at  some  of  the  stations. 

One  of  the  most  promising  phases  of  this  work  is  that 
carried  on  at  the  outlying  villages.  Native  evangelists  and 
teachers  who  have  received  some  instruction  at  one  of  the 
main  stations  go  out  singly  or  in  groups  to  tell  the  village 
folk  of  Jesus  and  His  love.  As  many  as  1,100  people  have 
been  in  attendance  at  one  of  these  services,  and  many  thou¬ 
sands  hear  the  Gospel  each  week  through  the  faithful  ef¬ 
forts  of  these  young  evangelists.  The  boys  do  not  always 
meet  with  such  success.  Jefferson  Ford  writes:  “Last 
Sunday  one  of  our  Christian  workers  heard  that  a  great 
number  of  people  had  been  called  to  a  certain  place  to  work 
the  road,  and  went  expecting  to  have  an  opportunity  to  reach 
many  people  with  the  message.  But  the  man  who  was 
superintending  the  job  refused  to  let  the  people  stop  work¬ 
ing  for  a  little  to  hear  the  message,  although  the  old  chief 
requested  him  to  let  them.  So  after  having  a  little  service 
with  the  old  men  and  six  or  eight  others,  he  came  home, 
but  very  much  disappointed.  At  other  times,  we  have 
watched  him  to  see  if  the  disappointment  would  affect  his 
earnestness.  But  he  has  always  taken  the  first  opportunity 
to  go  right  back  to  the  same  people.” 

Sunday  afternoon  services  are  usually  held  for  the  girls 
and  boys,  and  Wednesday  and  Thursday  evenings  are  given 
over  to  prayer  and  inquiry  meetings. 

The  Africans  who  accept  Christ  are  put  on  probation 
for  at  least  two  years.  During  this  period,  they  are  given 
careful  instruction  in  the  fundamental  principles  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Severe  times  of  testing  come  to  many  of  these  pro¬ 
bationers  who  have  to  endure  the  jeers,  taunts  and  threats 


21 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


of  their  fellows  still  living  in  paganism.  Some  are  not  able 
to  endure  the  tests  and  lapse  into  gross  sin.  But  the  num¬ 
ber  of  those  who  stand  true  is  increasing.  At  the  Christmas 
conference  held  in  1916,  300  strong  Christians  met  for 
counsel  and  help. 

The  transforming  power  of  the  Gospel  is  slowly  but 
surely  working  permanent  changes  in  the  lives  of  these 
people.  Wives  of  the  Christian  men  are  beginning  to  give 
up  their  lewd  ornaments ;  increasing  numbers  of  men  and 
women  wear  clothing;  each  year  sees  the  list  of  those  who 
live  in  decent  houses  lengthened;  Sabbath  observance  is 
on  the  increase ;  the  native  church  is  growing  in  numbers 
and  power ;  and  gradually  a  strong  Christian  community 
is  arising  out  of  the  mass  of  paganism. 


THE  THREEFOLD  CHALLENGE. 

At  the  present  time,  the  Africa  field  presents  a  three¬ 
fold  challenge  to  Friends  in  America. 

The  Unreached  Multitudes. 

While  our  missionaries  have  been  faithfully  at  work  in 
this  field  for  fifteen  years,  and  while  a  few  hundred  natives 
have  found  in  the  Gospel  that  which  meets  every  need,  little 
more  than  a  beginning  has  been  made  and  thousands  are 
yet  in  the  clutch  of  superstition,  ignorance,  and  pagan 
darkness,  “With  all  the  excellent  work  which  has  been 
done,”  writes  Dr.  A.  A.  Bond,  “the  task  of  evangelizing 
these  natives  has  only  just  begun.  Thousands  and  thou¬ 
sands  have  not  the  slightest  conception  of  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  do  not  even  know  that  such  a  privilege 
exists  for  them.”  Surely  this  great  mass  of  unreached 


22 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


humanity  presents  a  challenge  to  us  as  a  church  to  go  forth 
and  transform  it  with  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

M  ohammedanism. 

Mohammedanism  entered  North  Africa  640  A.  D.  and, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  years,  has  been  steadily  advanc- 
ing.  All  of  North  Africa,  the  Sudan  region  and  Nigeria  have 
been  overrun  and  today  the  region  immediately  south  of 
the  equator  is  seriously  menaced.  Every  Moslem  trader 
is  a  propagator  of  his  faith,  and  so  successful  has  he  been 
that  his  converts  outnumber  those  of  the  Christian  mission¬ 
ary  four  to  one.  Every  day  40,000,000  Africans  bow  at  the 
hour  of  prayer  and  repeat  the  creed,  “There  is  no  god  but 
God ;  Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  God.”  Like  a  monster 
reptile,  this  religion  is  slowly  but  surely  coiling  itself  about 
Africa,  and  will  claim  the  continent  as  its  prey  unless  the 
church  bestirs  herself  and  goes  to  the  rescue.  Missionary 
leaders  tell  us  that  the  next  twenty-five  years  will  answer 
the  question  as  to  whether  Christ  or  Mohammed  shall  be 
supreme  in  Africa. 

As  yet,  the  portion  of  Africa  where  our  work  is  located 
has  not  been  overrun  by  Islam,  but  Indian  traders,  who 
are  flocking  into  the  country  over  the  Uganda  railway,  con¬ 
stitute  a  serious  menace  to  our  work.  Unless  we  can  erect 
an  adequate  barrier  against  their  advance,  they  will  surely 
sweep  over  our  field  and  make  the  work  of  the  missionaries 
infinitely  more  difficult. 

A  Native  Leadership. 

The  period  of  pioneer  work  has  almost  come  to  a  close 
and  we  now  face  a  new  era  in  Africa.  Scarcely  a  week 
passes  by  without  some  chief  or  head-man  clamoring  for 
the  establishment  of  a  school  in  his  village.  Thousands 


23 


FIFTEEN  YEARS  IN  EAST  AFRICA 


might  in  this  way  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  the 
Gospel  if  the  force  on  the  field  were  adequate  to  meet  the 
demands. 

Another  clamoring  group  is  composed  of  native  Chris¬ 
tians.  Feeling  the  call  of  God  to  teach,  preach  and  evan¬ 
gelize,  they  are  asking  for  the  training  which  will  fit  them 
for  the  task.  For  the  last  few  years  there  has  been  a  press¬ 
ing  need  for  a  dormitory  boarding  school  where  the  best 
native  Christians  might  be  trained  for  more  efficient  work. 
Up  to  the  present  time,  Friends  have  withheld  the  money 
needed  for  the  erection  of  such  a  school,  thus  denying  to 
these  young  people  the  right  and  privilege  of  preparing 
for  the  work  to  which  they  have  felt  called. 

We  can  never  hope  to  man  the  field  with  a  suffi¬ 
cient  force  of  foreign  missionaries  to  evangelize  this  dis¬ 
trict,  and  unless  we  speedily  make  it  possible  to  train  the 
native  ministry,  paganism  will  successfully  impede  the 
progress  of  the  Gospel  and  Mohammedanism  will  make 
such  inroads  upon  our  work  that  the  cause  will  suffer  irre¬ 
parable  loss. 

Shall  not  Friends  rise  to  meet  this  imperative,  three¬ 
fold  challenge,  and  help  give  Africa  the  Gospel  for  which 
it  has  so  long  waited? 


24 


